Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- A Holladay house fire on Thursday left a woman in critical condition and injured a firefighter, five police officers and another person.
- The fire, which a resident said started from a computer explosion, displaced two adults and two children.
- Unified Fire Authority is investigating the incident, with the Unified Police Department assisting.
HOLLADAY — A firefighter and five police officers were injured while responding to a house fire on Thursday that also injured two residents — one of whom is still in critical condition.
Shannon O'Brien told KSL-TV that her son told her the "computer went boom," and flames from the computer quickly spread in the duplex at 6032 S. 2075 East in Holladay.
"I tried to put it out with a bucket and with the shower. I couldn't get it to go out. So I just grabbed my kids," she said.
Her mother, however, can't walk and couldn't make it downstairs. O'Brien said she tried to get her mom out for 10 minutes but couldn't get her mother to crawl out.
Neighbor Sophie Payne called out to other neighbors to come help and said one neighbor ran into the fiery house to try to save O'Brien's mother, but the smoke was just too thick.
The Unified Fire Authority received the initial call reporting the fire just before 1:30 p.m. Officers from the Unified Police Department were first on scene and went in to try to get O'Brien's mother and another person out. But the smoke and flames were too much for the officers, and they had to retreat.
Firefighters arrived minutes later and went in with protective gear. They were able to rescue the two inside, according to Unified Fire Authority spokesman Benjamin Porter, but not before one of the firefighters was injured.
"When we arrive on a scene like this and we have local knowledge that tells us that there's a victim inside, we live by a motto that we're going to risk a lot to save a lot. And if there's potential lives to be saved, we're going to do everything we can to try and change that outcome for somebody," Porter said.
Five of the police officers who went into the duplex were treated for injuries at the scene, and the injured firefighter was taken to the hospital. Details of the injuries were not given, but officials did say most of them stemmed from breathing in smoke.
O'Brien's mother was also taken to the hospital and, as of 10 p.m., family members say she was in critical condition. Emergency officials have not identified who the second person rescued was or what their condition is.
Three pets between the two units were also rescued. Two adults and two children were displaced in the fire, and the building is a total loss, Porter said.
Unified Fire Authority said because someone was hurt in the fire, protocol requires them to launch a criminal investigation, which the Unified Police Department is helping with.
Contributing: Logan Stefanich
Correction: A previous version of this article stated the fire happened in Cottonwood Heights instead of Holladay.
